JAFFA HARRIS
by LenSilvan
Summary: On his road trip, Xander Harris meets Goa'uld Setesh (Stargate SG-1) who turns him into a Jaffa and places clone of himself into Xander's pouch.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** On his road trip, Xander Harris meets Goa'uld Setesh (Stargate SG-1) who turns him into a Jaffa and places clone of himself into Xander's pouch.

**Author's note: **I have never seen Xander turned into Jaffa and I thought that it might be interesting turn of events. And, yes, I believe it is possible in Stargate canon to turn a human into a Jaffa. Didn't Hathor almost do that to O'Neill?

**Timeline:**

**Stargate SG-1:** Starts after SG-1 Season 3 Episode 2 "Seth"

**BtVS: **Starts after Season 3 episode 22 "Graduation Day, Part 2"

**DISCLAIMER:** Series trademarks, all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is not in any way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, and makes no money from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter One**

As Xander Harris walked on a country road, a heavy rain caught him. "Goddamn mechanic. Fucking Rory and his goddamn car!" he cursed his car that had broken just outside Oxnard. When Xander got into a rundown building, he was soaking wet, but, at least, out of the rain. Inside, Xander wrinkled his nose; the place smelled awful, but the terrible smell felt familiar. It took Xander a few moments to realize what he smelled was all too familiar smell of decaying bodies.

Xander followed the smell of death; he wanted to see if it was human bodies that he smelled or if they were just dead rats. Taking out the blessed dagger Giles had given him before he left Sunnydale Xander went down the stairs as silently as possible. What he found down there was more than a few bodies and a half-naked man with glowing eyes. The man turned those eyes on Xander. "I am Setesh, you would be wise to kneel before your god," The glowing eyes said.

Xander cursed inwardly, he was facing a demon who already had killed people, and he only had a blessed dagger. Deciding to play the demon's game, hoping to buy some time, Xander kneeled to one knee, sliding the hand that held the dagger behind his back.

The demon walked closer to Xander. "Good, you know when you are facing your better. You are young and strong. You might survive the transformation," he sneered, looking at the bodies all around us.

Hearing that, Xander jumped up and attacked the demon, trying to plung the dagger into his guts but the demon dodged his attack. "You dare attack your god?" The demon growled reaching to touch Xander to forehead, and the golden thing in his hand glowed. Tremendous pain hit Xander. He felt like his head, his whole body, was on fire; the agony was so intense Xander wondered if he would die from it.

When the demon pulled his hand away, Xander fell and hit his head on the floor. The demon had drained all Xander's strength; he couldn't move. All Xander could do was to stare at the smirking demon.

"Good, you can take pain, perhaps you will survive the transformation. When Hathor traded her device to me, she didn't tell that most Tau'ri cannot take the pain that the transformation causes. I hope you are the right one, my clone cannot wait for a new womb much longer and I have no means to clone myself again."

The demon touched the gem on his belly, and it lit up. He then got on top of Xander.

_Oh, God, he's going to rape me!_ Xander thought as the bright light enveloped them both.

Xander's body trembled in pain.

The agonizing seizure lasted for a what seemed eternity before the darkness took Xander far, far away from the pain.

The next time Xander woke up, he was lying on a metal bed. The light hurt his eyes. He saw figures moving around. Then the demon's smirking face appeared above him. "You are a good servant; you survived the transformation. It is time for you to take the larval," he said, showing a jar to Xander.

The demon opened the jar, and Xander watched how a slimy hissing snake got out of the jar, and he screamed in terror when it slithered into his stomach.

It happened slowly, Xander felt as if he was looking Alien emerging from the guy's stomach in reverse.

When the demon snake was inside his stomach, a warmth spread over Xander's body and the pain faded. He could feel the anger of the snake inside him. Xander looked down at his stomach, there was an X shaped scar on it. Then he sensed the thing falling asleep. Terrified, Xander turned his head to look someone to help or kill him; he didn't want to be possessed by a demon again. But there was no one else, but the glowing-eyed demon in the room.

No one alive that is; there were four bodies on the floor.

The demon saw what Xander was looking. "My loyal disciples or not, I cannot let them know where I'm hiding you. My clone is too important, he needs to be secured until the time he will be adult," he said. "now, it is time for both of you to sleep for a while,"

The demon closed a glass door that almost hit Xander on the nose. Then he reached on the side of the door and Xander blacked out.

* * *

**A month later**

"He's an American?" Jack asked, looking at the picture of a Driver's License on the screen and grimaced. "…and an eighteen-year-old kid at that."

"Yes, Sir, there is no doubt about his identity. He is Alexander Harris from Sunnydale, California," Carter said and shuffled the papers in front of her, sending them skitter across the table to O'Neill.

When Jack saw the X-Ray of the larvae in the boy's pouch, shivers of disgust went through him. He glanced at Teal'c, who was just as stoic as ever, but he gave Jack a slight shake of his head as if he knew what Jack was thinking and agreed him. "What can you tell us about him?" Jack asked.

"We can be 100% sure that a year ago Alexander Harris was a healthy human teenager without any signs of Jaffa pouch or Goa'uld larvae—" Carter said.

"How?" Jack cut her off.

"Sir?" Carter asked.

"I believe Colonel is asking how you can be sure that a year ago he wasn't a Jaffa?" General Hammond said.

"Sir, I can explain that," Dr. Frasier said, "I got his full medical file from Sunnydale and a year ago they did an extensive checkup for Mr. Harris. They even took full-body CT scan, and there were no signs of pouch or symbiote. So, we can be sure that a year ago Alexander Harris was a human. Although, I would like to know why they changed his blood not only once but thrice. There was no medical reason for them to do that."

"Why is that important?" Hammond asked.

"Exchange transfusion is a life-saving procedure, but there did not seem to be any medical reason for them to do that and yet, they didn't do it just once; they did it thrice. The only reason for that is that they were trying to flush something out of his circulatory," Dr. Frasier said. "They are hiding something, maybe in fear of malpractice charges."

"Could it be that his change to Jaffa started back then?" Jack asked.

"Maybe, Sir, but I don't think so. However, I believe that Mr. Harris was physically abused as a child. But none of the old injuries—some of which would have needed medical care—I found are mentioned in his medical file. His mother works as a nurse in Sunnydale General; I suspect that she erased uncomfortable parts from her son's file to avoid CPS investigation," Dr. Frasier said. "Which is illegal, and I'd like to go Sunnydale and check their records. I'm sure that I can find a paper trail of his abuse."

"Sorry, Janet, but, as much as I'd want to make child abusers suffer, we can't do that. The kid is officially dead," Hammond said. "What else we know about him?"

"As I told you, a year ago he was a normal human, but now he is a Jaffa with Goa'uld larvae in his pouch," Dr. Frasier said. "I wonder how that happened?"

"Hathor," Jack said shivering in disgust as he remembered what Hathor had done to him. "She knows how to turn humans into Jaffa."

"That's true, Hathor must have met Seth before she came to SGC," Carter said.

"Major, what makes you think so?" Hammond asked. "As far as we know, Harris never met Seth, nor did he visit Seattle."

"Janet confirmed that Mr. Harris's symbiote is an infant clone of Setesh," Carter said. "Before Hathor came to SGC, she must've met Mr. Harris and turned him into a Jaffa as a favor to Setesh."

"Shit, first Seth, then Hathor and now we hear that two of them met and Hathor turned an American boy to an incubator for Seth's clone." Jack darted an annoyed look at Carter. "How many snakeheads you think there are on earth?"

"We believe that Hathor and Seth were exceptions, they both had good reasons to stay behind when Ra left. But we cannot be sure that there aren't more Goa'uld hiding on Earth. After all, there are six billion humans on the planet, and unless they do something outlandish, we will not even know about them," Carter replied.

"Dammit, I hate to think that snakeheads are lurking in the darkness and scheming how to enslave the humanity," Jack said.

"Colonel," Seemingly annoyed Hammond said. "Let Major Carter and Dr. Frasier finish their briefing."

Jack groaned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes, Sir."

Carter cleared her throat. "Sir, actually there is not much else to tell, as far as I can tell Mr. Harris is an ordinary eighteen-year-old small-town boy. However, as I said, I haven't had time to dig into his life."

"Major, do you think you would find anything unusual if you dig deeper his life?" Hammond asked.

"No, Sir, I would not expect to find anything that explains why he has been turned into a Jaffa."

"Then I see no reason why you should waste time digging deeper into his life," Hammond said, turning to Dr. Frasier. "Dr. Frasier, is there anything else you can tell?"

"I have not much to add either. Everything is on the file. The point is that a year ago, Mr. Harris was a human boy, and now he is a Jaffa, and he has larvae clone of Setesh in his pouch. As far as I know, there is nothing we can do to make him a human again," Dr. Frasier said. "I recommend that we let Teal'c teach him. As I understand, it is essential to his survival that Alexander learns to perform Kelno'reem."

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, but what happens when NID hears about him? They'll come after him like they did with Teal'c and he's just a kid with the worst luck ever," Jack said. "Hell, if I will let NID take him into some lab to be dissected,"

"I would be glad to train him," Teal'c said. "However, I believe Selmak is the solution to your problem."

"What do you mean, Teal'c?" Hammond asked.

"Selmak is ambassador of the Tok-Ra nation, is he not?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, yes he is," Hammond said.

"And he has the…" Teal'c raised his eyebrow. "he is untouchable by Tau'ri government, is he not?"

"Yes, Selmak has the diplomatic immunity," Hammond said.

"When Selmak has the diplomatic immunity, is it right to assume that if Selmak gives AlexanderHarris an official status among Tok'ra that will give AlexanderHarris the same diplomatic immunity that Selmak has?" Teal'c asked.

Jack grinned at Teal'c "Indeed," he said.

"That is a good idea," Hammond said. "Major, contact Tok-Ra and tell them that we need to talk with them. I will withhold your reports about Mr. Harris until we have talked with Jacob and Tok-Ra."

"Thank you, Sir," Jack said. "Kid's probably suffered enough already; he doesn't need to get NID after him."

"I agree," Hammond said. "Major, Dr. Frasier, wake Mr. Harris up after which we will interrogate him to see if he's been brainwashed by Seth. After all, he was a master in that."

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "May I be there when you wake him up?"

"Granted," Hammond said dismissing the meeting.

Jack leaned back in his chair, looking at the boy's picture on the screen. The kid was smiling and who smiled in DMV photos? Jack had never seen anyone smiling on their Driver's License picture.

"Poor kid, first the abusive childhood and then he was turned into a Jaffa, and now he's officially dead and buried, and he cannot ever contact to his friends and family," Jack turned to Teal'c. "But let's not tell that to him right now. The shock of being turned into an alien is enough for now."

* * *

Xander felt as if he was under the water. He couldn't focus eyes, and he only heard annoying buzzing. When his mind slowly cleared and he started to be able to focus his eyes, he saw that he was lying on a Hospital bed. A big bald black guy with a golden thing attached in his forehead looked at him. Then he jerked when a woman's face appeared only inches away from him. He tried to lift his arms, but they didn't move. Xander glanced down and saw that his arms were tied on the bed.

"Please, calm down," the woman said with a soft, soothing tone. "The restraints are there only for your own protection. I will take them away when you are fully awake. Mr. Harris, my name is Janet Frasier, and I'm your doctor, and I'm going to do a few tests for you."

"Uh, okay," Xander said. "Xander."

"Xander?"

"My name, I'm not Mister Harris. That'd be my dad. I'm just Xander, and if you absolutely need to, then you can call me Alexander. But I prefer Xander. Only mom calls me Alexander, and she does it only when I'm in trouble."

Dr. Frasier smiled at him. "Xander it is then. I'm going to do some tests on you."

The next half an hour, the doctor did some tests and finally gave him a clean bill of health, and then she untied his arms. By which time Xander started to remember when had happened to him. Feeling terrible, he sat up and lifted the shirt. He took a deep breath hoping that it had been just a dream.

Then he looked at his abdomen. "Oh, God," he moaned, starting to panic when he saw the X-shaped cut on his belly. He didn't want to be possessed by a demon. "If you're squeamish I suggest you'll turn your eyes away. I'm going all Videodrome on myself right now," he said and plunged his hand into his stomach. He had just grabbed the snake when the big black guy grabbed him by the wrist.

"Do not take the larval out. If you do, you will die," the black guy said.

"I don't care, I don't want to become possessed by the damn snake-demon," Xander said, wrapping his fingers around the snake inside him. "Ow!" he said when it bit his hand. Xander tightened his grip on it.

"You will not be possessed by the infant larvae," the black guy said letting go of his hand. "It will take more than a century for it to become an adult. Until then, it cannot take control of you."

Xander pulled his hand with the slithering and hissing snake out of his belly. "I can feel its anger and hatred and fear," he said, looking at the snake in his hand feeling strangely calm about it.

The black guy nodded. "I know, that is part of the reason why we have Kelno'reem."

"Huh? Kel-no-whatsit?" Xander asked, staring at the ugly snake in his hand. He could feel that the snake was starting to panic; it feared for its life. He looked at the black guy. "What do you know about these bastards?" he asked, waving the snake in his hand, squeezing it harder when it sunk its fangs into his arm.

The black guy opened his shirt and showed the X-shaped cut in his abdomen. "I know everything there is to know, and I can teach you," he said. "AlexanderHarris you have a choice to make. Either you crush the larvae in your hand and die painfully in the next few days, or you let it go back your pouch and become my student."

Xander looked at the hissing snake in his hand. "It cannot possess me?"

"No, it cannot," the black guy said.

Xander looked at him, for some reason, he felt that he could trust the big man. "Okay," he said and turned his eyes on the snake in his hand. He brought it close to his face and, looking into its eyes, he said, "You're not the first snake demon I've met. The last one I blew into smithereens." The snake stopped struggling, and Xander could sense its fear. Grinning, he snapped his teeth at the snake. "If I ever suspect that you are trying to possess me, I will eat you, and I'll start from the tail so that you'll suffer as much as possible." Then he brought his hand down to his belly and let go. The snake slithered into his stomach.

"You made a good choice, AlexanderHarris. Even though the larvae is too young to understand spoken language, I believe that it still understood the thought behind your words and it fears you." The big black guy said. "My name is Teal'c, and I'm honored to take you as my student."

"I'm Xander," Xander said, still staring at the X on his belly, concentrating on his thoughts, trying to see if the snake demon tried to possess him. "That's my name. I hate to be called Alexander, and even more I hate to be called Harris," he turned to look at the big man. "I should be panicking, but I'm not. In fact, I'm unnaturally calm. Why is that?"

"I do not know," Teal'c said.

"It is a side effect of the drugs I used to keep you in a medical coma after we took you out of the stasis chamber," Dr. Frasier said. "Even with Jaffa healing and metabolism, it will take some time for your body to get rid of all the drugs."

"I'm Jaffa?" Xander asked. "What the hell is a Jaffa?"

"We are humans that were genetically engineered to incubate Goa'uld," Teal'c said.

Xander frowned. "Goa'uld? Is that the name of the demon inside us?"

"What is a demon?" Teal'c asked.

"That is hard to explain," Dr. Frasier said.

"A demon is an evil sentient being that wants to kill all humans or evil spirit that can possess a person," Xander said.

"And that covers it pretty well," Dr. Frasier said looking curiously at Xander. "You've given that explanation before, haven't you?"

"Nah, but I've heard my… mentor saying it more than a few times. I was in archeology club, and I was kinda interested in mythologies," Xander said and turned to Teal'c. "So, Goa'uld is the name of the demon species inside us?"

Teal'c nodded. "Indeed, however, it is not an adult. The larvae is comparable to a human fetus and it takes 120 to 150 years for it to become an adult Goa'uld."

Xander groaned, "Great, now I'm pregnant with a demon..."

Suddenly the door opened, and in walked three men and a woman. Xander raised his eyebrow when he saw them. The woman and two men were dressed in blue BDU's, and the older bald man had a uniform, and, on his shoulders, he had two stars. Which meant that he was a General. "General?" Xander asked, still feeling strangely calm. "What the hell does the US Army want from me?"

"Ari Force," The General and the salt and pepper haired man corrected him. "Dr. Frasier, is Mr. Harris fit to talk?" General asked from the doc.

"Xander," Xander said and grinned at the general. "call me Xander or I'll start babbling and my babble is so incoherent and crazy that to get away from insanity that is my babble you'll sharpen a Q-Tip and stab your ears just to get peace and quiet. So… your options are: call me Xander or stab your eardrums."

The salt and pepper haired man chuckled. "I like him."

The General shook his head at the man, "Of course, you do, Colonel," he said and then turned back to Xander. "Xander, what did you mean when you said that the larvae inside you is not the first snake demon you've met?" he asked.

Inwardly cursing his stupidity about not realizing that there would be cameras in the place Xander looked at him for a long moment wondering what to say. "Sir, would you believe if I'd say that it was just something, I cooked up to scare the… uh, worm?"

"No, I would not. Most people are disgusted and scared when they see Goa'uld for the first time, but you were angry and controlled. You didn't even flinch when you took the larvae out of your pouch, and you even warned Dr. Frasier and Teal'c what you were going to do. And you obviously know enough about Goa'uld to know that even the larvae have enough intelligence so that it can be terrorized," General said. "All that tells me that you have prior knowledge about Goa'uld."

Xander groaned. "Would you believe if I'd tell you that I have no idea what you're talking about?"

The General glanced at the Colonel, and then he said, "Will I believe you or not depends what you are going to tell me. Xander, I'm not going to punish you, but your behavior with the Goa'uld larvae implicates that there has been a security breach and I want to know how, where, and when it happened," he said. "Start from the beginning. How did you come to know about what you call, snake-demons?"

Xander thought about it for a moment. He could tell them about demons, after all, he now had a baby-demon inside of him. But how could he do that without telling secrets of his friends?

As he was wondering that, yet another man walked in. He was in his late thirties, had glasses, and he said, "Dr. Giles!"

"Huh?" Xander said.

"I just read Sam's file about you! Dr. Giles is your School Librarian!" The wide-eyed man said.

"Again, I go for; huh?" Xander said.

"Dr. Giles! A librarian!" the man yelled.

Xander turned to General. "Is he… a special boy?"

The Colonel chuckled. "Yeah, he's our special space monkey," he said. "Daniel, calm down and explain why you're so agitated about this Dr. Giles."

The man took a few deep breaths and then he said. "Dr. Giles was a curator of British museum. He is this century's most important figure of European history and linguistics! He opened up Herodotus' and Titus Flavius Josephus' and Cassiodorus' writings the way no one before him! Dr. Giles speaks and reads almost as many languages as I do, and he's written controversial books about Visigoths and Teutons! Not to mention his groundbreaking study about European witch hunts!"

"Got it," Colonel calmly said. "Dr. Giles is you if you'd been interested in European history. So, what about him?"

"Jack! He's, he's, he's…. he's a renowned historian, linguist, and archaeologist! He was my tutor in Oxford!" The man looked at Xander. "Why is Dr. Rupert Giles working as your High School librarian?"

Xander shrugged. "Maybe he wanted peace and quiet, and can you find any more peaceful place than the High School library?"

"The kid has a point," Colonel said.

"Jack!"

"What?" Colonel said, raising his eyebrow. "how many times did you visit your High School's library? No… come to think of it; don't answer that, you probably lived in the library. But—"

"Jack! That's not the point!" the agitated man said. "Um… hmmm?" his eyes lighted up. "Wayne Gretzky!"

Colonel blinked in confusion. "What does Wayne Gretzky have to do with this?"

"What would have you thought if Wayne Gretzky would have decided to stop playing Ice Hockey at the height of his career and then started a new career as a High School figure skating coach?"

Colonel frowned. "That he'd gone insane," he said.

"Exactly," the agitated guy said, turning to Xander. "Why was he your high school librarian?"

Xander shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Mr. Harris—" General said.

"Xander," Xander said.

"—is right, how would he know why his librarian decided to become a librarian," General said, "but with this new information I'm starting to understand how Xander knew about Goa'uld. Dr. Giles told you, didn't he?"

Xander glared at General. "If you're going to hurt Giles I will... I will…" he had no idea what he would or even could do to the General. "I'll do something that you'll hate!"

The Colonel chuckled. "What comes to threats that really wasn't very threatening."

"Xander Harris," Teal'c said, "General Hammond is an honorable man. He will not hurt your friends."

Xander blinked and looked at the big black man. For some reason, he trusted him and his judgment. "Okay," he said, turning to General Hammond. "Okay, Giles is a member of the Watcher's Council and—"

"Stop, don't say a word!" General Hammond cut him off. "Clear the room."

"Sir?" Colonel asked.

"That's an order," General Hammond said. "Clear the room now, people, Mr. Harris and I have to talk in private," he said, looking at the camera on the corner of the room. "Make sure that no one is recording anything that will be said in this room."

Baffled Xander watched how people left the infirmary and when they were alone with General, he said, "General, what—"

"Where is the Watcher's Council's headquarters?" General Hammond asked.

"London, why—"

"Who is the current head of the council?"

Xander wrinkled his nose as if smelling something bad. "Travers."

"That asshole? Damn, I hoped that Roger Wyndham-Pryce would have taken the lead but, apparently you can't always get what you want," General Hammond said. "When referring to International Watcher's Council, use the acronym IWC. Not many people inside the US government and army knows about them, and we like to keep it that way."

"Okay… are you in Council? Are you a Watcher?"

General Hammond groaned. "No, I am not. I despise those old men who force a young girl fight in a war without giving her the support she deserves. However, I am aware of them, and I'm aware what they fight against," he said. "you are too young and too American to have an official position inside the Council… can I assume that Dr. Giles is a watcher and one of your female friends is the Slayer?"

"Why would I answer to that?"

"I'll take that as a yes," General Hammond said. "I'm not interested in the Slayer or Watcher. The battle against demons goes under another branch of military. But your knowledge about HST's explains your reaction to the Goa'uld larvae. How long have you been hunting HST?"

"HST?"

"Hostile Sub-Terran," General Hammond said. "That is what the army calls the demons. How long have you been fighting them?"

"Since I was sixteen," Xander admitted.

General Hammond nodded and took a chair and sat down beside the bed. "Xander, only a handful of people in the army knows about the hidden war against the demons and other monsters and I'm one of those people. Even though IWC has a lot of influence inside the US Goverment only President and a few others knows about IWC and the Slayer. I'm sorry to say that in the army there are too many people who would want to use Slayer as weapon or worse if they'd know about her. To protect your friends never, ever mention slayer or IWC to anyone unless you are not sure that the person already knows about them. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir," Xander said, "clear as a day."

General Hammond smiled. "Good boy," he said. "As I mentioned, I'm not interested in the Slayer or her Watcher or any of your friends. However, I'd like to hear your story. I'm sure that it will give me some guidance what to do with you."

"How do you know about Council and Slayer?"

"My aunt was a Slayer, and, in my youth, I spent two years in Demon Researcher Initiative, which is the USA military version of IWC. My team's job was to kill demons and bring their bodies for the scientists to study," General Hammond said, "in fact, part of the reason why I got this job was because I had experience about supernatural."

"What is your job now?" Xander asked with a cocked eyebrow.

General Hammond smiled. "I run the show in this place," he said, "and since you are Jaffa now, you fall under my jurisdiction."

"Uh, what does that mean?"

"It means that you are under my protection and that you cannot leave this base without supervision," General Hammond said. "Xander, let's make a deal. I'll tell you what we do here and what will happen to you if you tell me how you started to fight the demons."

Xander nodded. "Deal," he said. "in one condition."

"And that is?"

"Tell me what kind of demons these are," Xander asked, pointing at his stomach.

"They're aliens, not demons."

Xander's eyes widened. "Aliens… like, you know, space aliens?"

"Yes, will you now tell me how you got involved with the war against demons?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you," Xander leaned back in the bed. "It started when a new girl came to my school… back then I was just a normal guy, you know? I knew nothing about the real world; I didn't know that the town was dangerous, I didn't know that the Mayor was…" all off sudden an image of Mayor-Snake killing Larry flashed through his mind. "God… Larry…" he muttered.

Then came the faces of his classmates who had died during the battle against Mayor-Snake. "All of them died because I wasn't good enough… Because I failed them! Just once in their life, they saw me as something else than just a class clown, and I got them killed!"

Xander felt myriad emotions at once.

Sadness. Anger. Pain. Regret. Loss.

And guilt. Terrible guilt.

He felt overwhelmed by all the emotions crashing into each other inside his head.

He felt overwhelmed by all the guilt about being such a bad field commander that his troops had died.

"Xander, who is dead because you weren't good enough?" General Hammond asked with soft, gentle voice.

Xander looked at him, trying to keep the tears at bay.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't stop the tears, nor could he stop the words that started to stream out of his mouth. "I failed them. I should have planned it better. But I really didn't know what it meant that Mayor turned into a true demon. God! He was big..."

* * *

TBC

**Author's Note:** Xander is officially dead and he cannot leave SGC base and he's a Jaffa. Also, Hammond is in process getting Xander a diplomatic immunity as a Tokra Ambassador's assistant. So why wouldn't Hammond tell Xander what they do in SGC?


	2. Chapter 2

**Sunnydale, CA, Aug 1999 **

It was a beautiful but unusually windy and cold day for a Californian summer. The sky was full of dark clouds, but it wasn't raining yet. Buffy felt that it should have been raining. The skies should have cried for her friend. She felt a tremendous weight on her chest. Xander wasn't supposed to die! He was supposed to have a normal life with a wife and kids.

Buffy looked around; she had not expected Xander's funeral to be such a hit. There were over thirty people there, most of them their schoolmates. One of the few who wasn't crying was Willow. She just stared at the casket, her face was pale, and it was easy to see that Willow had not slept well. Buffy was worried about her friend. When the news about Xander's death came, Willow acted expectedly; she cried and fell into depression.

But then, when the whole story reached them, Willow became obsessed finding what really happened to Xander. Buffy had to admit that she didn't know what to think about the way Xander had died. It was a strange story, Seth Fargough, leader of some sort of a religious cult and a serial killer, had killed several of his followers and Xander had been among them,

Buffy understood why Willow had become so obsessed to find out more about Seth and his cult and how Xander had died. The idea of Xander becoming a religious nut who followed a man who declared himself as a God itself was not credible, but for their friend to become a follower of a Seth under a month was a ridiculous idea.

Xander had seen too much to become a mindless drone of anyone, much less of a man who had claimed to be a God. There had to have been a better explanation of why Xander's dead body had been found in Seth's compound. Buffy looked at Willow, there still was no tears, but now she looked like a ghost.

"Stupid, idiotic, dweeb!" Cordelia, who, whatever reason, had clutched on Buffy's mother's other arm, said.

"Huh?" Buffy asked, giving the brunette a pissed off glare. "Are you insulting Xander on his funeral?"

"Well, yeah, he wouldn't be in that coffin if he hadn't been such an idiot. Always the fucking hero who had to put his nose where it didn't belong! They're wrong, you know? I know my Xander, he'd never join a cult. The only reason I can think of why he died in that compound was that he was there to save someone. The stupid idiot always had to save everyone! That's why he is… was an idiot. I'm pretty damn sure that without his White Knight complex, he'd be alive today."

Buffy nodded, she had to admit that Cordelia had a point and Xander trying to save some girl from a cult was more likely explanation than him becoming a mindless cultist under a month. "Yeah, that would make more sense than what they told us."

"Yes, Xander had many flaws, but he was not as gullible as they say he was. He didn't need a religious cult to tell him what the meaning if his life was. Xander already knew what to do with his life," Joyce smiled sadly at her daughter. "His purpose in life was to help you. He saw that as his sacred duty."

"Uh-huh, stupid dweeb was worthy of his name," Cordelia said.

"Huh?" Buffy asked.

"Alexander means the protector of mankind," Joyce explained.

"Yeah," Cordelia said, "what's with Willow? I'd expect her to be bawling."

"She's… obsessed about finding what happened to Xander and she… I don't know… she's… she just behaves strangely… she even broke up with Oz," Buffy said.

"Huh? Really?" Cordelia said.

"Really," Buffy replied. "I think she did it because of guilt that Oz forgave her and she got him back, but Xander never did get you back."

"Great! Make me feel even worse—" Cordelia said.

"Shush, girls!" Joyce said as the Priest started to talk.

Buffy wasn't listening to the priest. Though he had been Xander's Holy Water supplier the priest had not really known Xander. Even though some of the guys in there had bullied Xander in school anyone of them would have been better speaking in his funeral than the priest.

As the casket was lowered to the grave, Buffy leaned on her mother for support. She watched how the colorful parasol, her Class Protector award, disappeared into the grave with the casket. She barely could see through her tears. She might have been Class Protector, but Xander had been her Protector. Without him, she wouldn't be there.

And now he wasn't there anymore.

If felt so final to watch him being put in the grave. And it was final; Giles had broken into the morgue to cut off Xander's head just in case. He'd told Buffy why it was closed casket funeral; Xander's body had been badly burned. The idea of cutting off the head of the corpse of a friend might have appalled anyone else, but Buffy was thankful that Giles had done it.

At least, now she could be sure that she would never have to stake her friend.

Willow stared at the casket, feeling nothing at all, unlike everyone else there she knew that it wasn't Xander in that coffin. Wanting to say goodbye to her best friend in person she had broken into the morgue the same night they had delivered Xander's body to Sunnydale. As she had cried over the body, she had slowly started to realize that something in the face of the burned body bothered her.

It had taken her a long moment to realize that the few unburned hairs that were left on the head of the corpse were brown, but much lighter shade brown than Xander's hairs were. To make sure that he was Xander Willow had done an autopsy to the body and two hours later she was sure that it was not her best friend's body.

Not only didn't the body's measures match on Xander's—the dead man was two inches taller than Xander, and his shoulders were narrower—, but the burned body had never broken any of the bones that Xander had.

It was not Xander's body.

Willow glanced at crying Buffy; she wondered if she should tell her that it wasn't Xander that they were burying? But, before the body had been delivered to Sunnydale, FBI had done an autopsy to it, and they had identified him as Xander, which meant that whoever was behind this either worked for the FBI or had enough influence that he could falsify a death certificate.

A person or persons with that kind of power over FBI might be very dangerous and, at least, they were too influential to let them know that she was after them, whoever they were. At least, for now, it was best to keep it secret that they were burying someone else than Xander. She'd tell others when she'd know more about what happened to Xander. Willow almost smiled when she thought about what the wrong body in the coffin meant; Xander might be alive. Of course, it only gave her a little hope, but that was enough for her to start examining Xander's death.

Willow had started from the most obvious place; Seth Fargough and his cult. Thus far, she had found out that there had been similar cults of Seti all through history. Setesh, the brother of Osiris and Isis, seemed to have been alive several thousand years. Willow had started to believe that Setesh was a vampire, especially after she had found that Seth's body had disappeared from the morgue.

Willow hoped that, if Setesh were a vampire, he wouldn't have turned Xander. She gnawed her lower lip; if that were the case, she would keep the promise she'd given to Xander after Jesse's death; she'd kill vampire-Xander whatever it takes.

But Willow wasn't going to give up with her friend yet. With a little help from the magic—Miss Calendar had left behind some nifty hacking-spells—she had managed to hack into FBI network. But their reports were just the same that they had given Xander's parents.

However, from FBI files Willow had found that there had been several Air Force Officers on the scene. That had made her curious, and more so after she read that two of the Air Force Officers, Major General Jacob Carter and Major Samantha Carter were father and daughter. Even if they'd sent Air Force General after a religious cult—which sounded ridiculous—the Army would not have sent father and daughter pair on the scene. There was something fishy about General and Major Carter and Willow was determined to find out what it was.

"Will, are you coming to us? We're having sorta wake for Xander at our home," Buffy asked.

"Wake is supposed to be kept before the funeral," Willow absentmindedly said.

"Well, yeah, maybe, but mom's having it now, are you coming?"

Willow looked at Buffy, part of her wanted to get back to her computer, she had a lot to do if she wanted to find Xander, but other part wanted to be with her friends. Even if it wasn't Xander that they had buried she still was sad and being with friends might help.

Willow nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm coming."

* * *

**A month later **

Major Samantha Carter stared at the computer screen. Someone had gotten into the system, and she couldn't figure out how nor had she any clue how to track the hacker down. She was glad that SGC had a closed system. There was no way anyone outside of the mountain to get into the SGC's network. You could access SGC servers only from a terminal inside Cheyenne mountain.

But the hacker had gotten into the Air Force network, and they had downloaded enough data that someone might figure out that the US Air Force used technology that should not exist in a few decades. Not to mention that they had downloaded her and MacKay's unpublished study about wormholes.

She'd published more than a few papers about the subject, but none of them revealed anything about the stargate. But the paper the hackers had downloaded was a Top Secreta. Sam sighed deeply; if that paper would be leaked then the some of the astrophysicists would figure out that she and Rodney had used a working wormhole as a reference point.

Sam finished her report about the security breach, printed it, and logged off the computer. She had to go to General and tell him what had happened. She could have sent her report, but she wanted to hand it personally because she knew that Hammond would have some questions.

"What does all that mean?" Hammond asked. "Can they figure out what is happening inside the mountain?"

"No, Sir, we don't keep that kind of files in servers that can be accessed outside. But they might be able to connect the dots and figure out that the Air Force is using more advanced technology than anyone in the world. Technology that should not exist in decade or two," Sam said. "But that's not the worst part."

Hammond grunted rubbing his temples. "I feel a headache coming…" he muttered and then he looked at Sam. "So, what is the worst part?"

"They got my and Rodney McKay's extensive study about wormholes. If the hackers leak that out some of the astrophysicists out there WILL realize that we've used a stable wormhole as a reference point."

"Which would mean that Stargate would become public."

"No, Sir, Stargate isn't mentioned on the paper, but it still would be very hard to explain where we got that data."

"But there is a way to explain it?"

Sam thought about it for a long moment. "Perhaps, I know a few groups who are working with the Einstein–Rosen bridge… I might be able to nudge them on the right path for them to create a theoretical way of creating a steady wormhole. Then we could give credit to that group, that would silence most of the science world and the rest of them, the ones who don't believe our explanation..." she sighed, "I guess we'd have to hire them."

Hammond nodded. "Contact on those groups and give them some help without revealing us. And, for God's sake, try to find out who hacked into Air Force."

"Yes, Sir," Sam said.

* * *

"It is getting better. I mean, I'm getting better. I'm not feeling good, but I'm starting to think that the rest of my life can be livable. I don't want to die, so, I'm in a lot better condition than I was just a month ago," Xander told Dr. MacKenzie. "Therapy and talking with Jack and Teal'c have helped me a lot. It kinda makes me feel better that they've gone through something similar, you know?"

Dr. MacKenzie nodded. "PTSD and survivors' guilt would have been hard enough to cope alone, but you also were a commanding officer, and you feel guilty about losing soldiers under your command."

"Yeah, I know," Xander said, "I lost people."

"Yes, you did, but you did your best, and that is all army asks from its officers. You cannot ask more from yourself."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, I know it is true. Jack's kinda trying to convince me that I didn't make any huge mistakes when planning the battle or during the battle. The enemy just was too great to win without casualties. Jack says that I should focus on the fact that we did win the battle. But… I kinda… I don't know… in my emotions and stuff, I still feel like I'm to be blamed their deaths. It's kinda hard to accept that I'm not to be blamed, but I'm halfway there. Someday I will accept it.

"And Jack's been kinda… dunno what he does. I mean… we don't talk about the officer's guilt or whatever you call it… we don't talk about that… not really. We're just, you know, comparing battle wounds and shit like that and sometimes… we talk about war and battles. Jack… he just is there, for me, I mean. No judging or anything. He just is there. We don't compare how many guys died under our command, and I'm sure he'd win that battle, but… he helps me just by being there, you know?"

"Yes, I believe I know what you mean, you and Colonel O'Neill have a lot in common," Dr. MacKenzie said. "How often the nightmares come?"

"Most nights I still see nightmares," Xander said. "But I get some sleep every night. The guilt is there, but it isn't crushing me anymore. Sometimes I sleep all through the night without nightmares waking me up. I know that I'm far from getting over the guilt, but right now, I'm just glad that the guilt isn't crushing me anymore."

"I would prescribe sleeping pills, but they don't work with Jaffa physic," Dr. MacKenzie said.

"It's okay; I do get some sleep. Not much, but enough to wake up more rested than I was when I got in the bed which is a big change," Xander said, "sometimes I think that Wormtail is releasing something that makes me fall asleep."

"Wormtail?"

"I don't have much to do here, and Janet brought me all three Harry Potter books and in them is a cowardly villain called Wormtail," Xander shrugged. "I thought that the name kinda fits for the worm in my belly. After all, it's a worm, and its a coward who fears me."

"Interesting," Dr. MacKenzie said.

"No," Xander said. "Don't say interesting. Every time you say interesting, you'll tell me how screwed up I am! The name I gave to the snake in my tummy is not interesting! I'm not interesting. Did you hear me? It's not interesting. Not at all interesting!"

"Xander, I didn't mean it that way. It just is interesting that you name it when Teal'c hasn't named the larvae."

"He calls it Junior," Xander said.

"No, Jack calls it junior, Teal'c hates the larvae just as much as you hate your larvae. I find it interesting that you named it because it tells a lot about you. You are a very friendly and caring person—"

"Don't! Please, don't tell me what naming the snake tells about me. I don't want to know, okay?" Xander said.

"Okay," Dr. MacKenzie said. "I believe it is dinner time."

"Yeah, I'm starving," Xander said as he got up. "Till the next time, Doc."

He found Jack waiting for him outside of the Dr. MacKenzie office. "Are you hungry, kiddo?" Jack asked when he saw Xander.

Xander nodded. If Colonel O'Neill was in the base when he had his therapy session the man always was waiting for him and then he took him to eat, and most of the time they talked about Simpsons or Jack was trying to teach rules of the Ice Hockey for him. It was sort of a ritual, and it made Xander always feel great. It was a small thing, but it was Jack's way to show that he cared.

Xander sighed as the people turned to look at him when they got to the canteen. Most of the SGC personnel were suspicious about him; they didn't like to have another Jaffa in the base. After he had heard Jack's stories about the Goa'uld Xander understood why only a few people in SGC dared to approach him, but it still made him feel even more outsider than he was.

As they ate, Xander listened to Jack telling about the thrills of an Ice Hockey game he had watched the night before. While they were eating Teal'c, Sam, and Danial joined them.

"Hey! That was mine!" Xander said when Jack snatched his Jell-O.

"Finders keepers," Jack said, putting a spoonful of the Jell-O into his mouth. "Mmmmm," he moaned.

"I can't believe that I unwittingly chose a thief as my role model," Xander grunted.

"What?" Jack asked.

Xander shrugged. "Doc M told me that I've chosen you and Teal'c as my first real male role models."

"Huh? First male role model?" Jack said, "don't you have a dad?"

"Well, yeah, but he's a work-shy abusive drunkard, not much of a role model. And the only other man in my life…" Xander sighed. "Well, Doc said that I didn't really see him as a man but as a librarian and… uh, my friend's tutor. If we believe Doc you and Teal'c are my first male role models and now I found out that you're a thief," he grinned, "you should behave like a good role model if you want me to grow up to be a productive member of the society."

"Bleh, I'm no one's role model," Jack said.

"Actually, Sir, I cannot think any better role model for Xander than you," grinning Sam said. "If Janet hadn't given us DNA proof that Xander isn't your son I'd ask if you'd had sexual relations with Xander's mother nineteen years ago."

"Hey!" Xander and Jack said.

"Damn you, Sam, now I will never get the image of Jack and mom in bed out of my mind!" Xander said as he snatched the Jell-O back from Jack and with the other hand, he snatched Jack's Jell-O jar and licked it. Then he grinned at Jack. "Mine! All mine!" he said as he started to eat the Jell-O.

Daniel burst into laughter. "Okay, Sam, I can see the resemblance between two of them."

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

* * *

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry about the long silence, but my personal life has been—still is—a mess. So, updating my stories will take some time. I'm sorry about that._

_A short chapter, but, at least, the story continues..._

* * *

**Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, Nov 1999**

For a long time, Xander and Teal'c had been silently sitting opposing each other, and Xander felt calm and sedated. All the day's nervousness had burned out of him. He wasn't asleep, but he wasn't far from falling asleep, and yet, he wasn't going to fall asleep. It was a strange feeling, and he loved every second of it even if he, sort of, felt the echoes of the emotions of the evil worm in his belly.

"Xander Harris," Teal'c said, opening his eyes, "I believe that was enough for today. I'm glad and slightly surprised that you learned so fast how to properly perform Kelno' reem."

Xander shrugged. "My best friend kinda tried to teach me meditation, and it really didn't work. But I learned to empty my mind, that kinda is easy for me," he grinned at his mentor. "Probably because there's not much in my mind."

"The Tau'ri did several tests on you, some of which were testing your mental capacity. I have been told that you are a quite intelligent young man," Teal'c said while blowing out the candles. "Self-doubt is an enemy of a warrior."

"Yeah, I know, and I… well, I doubt my intelligence and all that, but not as much as I let out. I joke about it because it's a way to cheer people up when…" he paused. "I, uh, well, I'm kinda used to do that."

Teal'c looked at him for so long a moment that Xander started to squirm under his stare. The man's stoic face was almost impossible to interpret. "Chal 'til, you will stop belittling your abilities," Teal'c said, "now, we are going to the canteen. It is time for lunch."

"Yeah, I'm starving," Xander said, noticing that Teal'c had said that he will stop belittling his abilities. It was a command, not a suggestion. "Chal'til means more than just that I'm your student, doesn't it?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said, "in the past, students have been slaves to their masters, but I will not enslave you. We are free, Jaffa. But you are my student, and I expect you to obey my direct orders when I give one."

"And telling me not to make jokes about my intelligence was an order, wasn't it?"

"Yes, yes it was," Teal'c said. "When you are belittling yourself, you are not only making yourself believe what you are saying; you also make people think that what you say is true and you will lose their respect. That is why I want you to stop belittling yourself."

"Damn, I've never heard the big man talk that much," Jack said as he suddenly appeared beside Xander.

"Xander Harris is my Chal 'til," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, but Bra'tac doesn't talk as much as you do to Xander," Jack said.

"Master Bra'tac and I are two very different persons," Teal'c said. "The old way to train Jaffa warrior was to enslave Chal 'til and expect him to learn while obeying commands. However, Xander Harris is as far from me as I am from Master Bra'tac. Xander Harris does not blindly respect traditions. He needs to know why things are done the way they are done. When I explained how the Kelno' reem works, he managed to fall into the meditative state faster than I did when I started my training. Xander Harris is an intelligent young warrior, and to learn things, he needs to understand them first."

Xander blushed. "Thanks, Teal'c."

"You are welcomed," Teal'c said.

"Well, it'll be damn hard to adjust having a rambling Teal'c around," Jack said as they got to the canteen.

Teal'c said something to that, but Xander didn't pay any attention to them. He was too busy filling his tray with food. He'd always had a healthy appetite, but the three months he'd been a Jaffa, Xander had learned that now he ate, at least, twice as much as he used to. Jack joked that it was because he was eating for two. Which, as embarrassing as it was, probably was not that far from the truth. He had a baby alien inside his belly, and it needed the energy to grow to an adult evil alien-snake with delusions of grandeur.

While they ate, Daniel and Sam came to their table. Xander liked the SG-1 members, and, even though Teal'c was his teacher and he liked the big man, Jack still was his favorite. Xander had started to idolize Colonel O'Neill, and he wanted to grow up to be like him. Not that he'd ever tell that to O'Neill, Jack's ego was large enough as it was.

"We have a briefing at twelve-hundred," Jack said when they were finishing the meal.

Xander knew what that meant; the SG-1 would go for a mission, and sometimes their missions lasted days. Days that he was stuck underground with only Janet as his friend, and she often was too busy to spend time with him. Xander had tried to befriend with the other people in the base, but they didn't want anything to do with him. Most of the SGC personnel seemed to think that his sudden transformation to Jaffa was a contagious disease.

Xander hated that he had not been permitted to leave the SGC's HQ. He understood the reasons behind his imprisonment, but it didn't make it any easier to stay underground. He had not seen the sun in three months, and sunshine had always been so significant part of his life that without it, he didn't feel safe, and he slowly was falling into depression.

After they got out of the canteen, Xander turned left to go to his room.

"Xander, where the hell are you going?" Jack asked.

Xander turned to him. "To my room," he said.

"What part of 'We have a briefing' didn't you understand?" Jack asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"We? You mean that I'm part of the WE?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, you are part of the we, kiddo," Jack said.

"But, but, but, I–I'm not a member of SG-1," baffled Xander stammered.

"No, but you'll be joining us for this mission," Jack said.

"Why?" Xander asked. "Not that I'm not happy that I'll get out of the base."

"Janet and MacKenzie have told General that you are falling into depression and that it is no wonder since you've been underground for three months. MacKenzie gave it as his professional opinion that you need to get outside to see the sky and breathe fresh air. General cannot yet let you out here on Earth, but he can let you come with us to a peaceful trading mission," smiling Sam said.

"Oh, okay, that's, that's, great," Xander said, following them.

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"Sir, thank you for this opportunity to get out of… uh, underground," Xander said when they got to the briefing room where General Hammond was waiting for them. "I won't disappoint you."

"You should thank Dr. MacKenzie, he was quite adamant that I should let you out," General said.

"Oh, yeah, I'll thank him," Xander said as he sat down at the table.

All through the briefing, he felt awkward. The past months Teal'c had trained him to be a good Jaffa and a good warrior, but he had a lot to learn, and Teal'c had not trained Xander to be a part of an SG team. Xander didn't know how to work as a member of a team. No one had taught that to him. Joining SGC's elite team, SG-1, in a mission, worried Xander.

What if he'd screw everything up for all of them?

What if he'd get them all killed?

"You will do fine, Xander Harris," Teal'c said as if reading his mind. "as long as you obey my orders."

"Yeah, I'll obey everyone's orders," Xander said. "But I worry, you know?"

"Yes, I can see that, which was why I said that you will do fine," Teal'c said. "My orders first, Jack O'Neill's orders second, Samantha Carter's orders third. That is your line of command."

Xander tilted his head and glanced at Daniel. "You didn't mention Daniel."

"No, I did not mention Daniel Jackson, if only you and he are left, protect Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said and turned to Jack. "What kind of weaponry will you provide to Xander Harris?"

* * *

**Sunnydale****, ****California, Nov 1999**

Willow groaned, even with the magic helping her, she had not had luck deciphering the encrypted files. Whatever encryption they used, it was nothing she'd seen before. It wasn't available for the public. Then again, that should not be a surprise; she'd gotten those files from the National Intelligence Department's servers. Willow tweaked her program a bit, gave it a magical boost, and then put it on the work again, but she had no high hopes.

Then she opened a secure connection to a Korean server and then logged on a server in Russia. Twenty minutes later, when she was sure that her digital tracks had been covered, she opened a mail program. Then she typed the message she'd been writing and rewriting for a week. She needed to catch Major Samantha Carter's attention. After she was sure that the message would catch Major's eye, she pressed CTRL+X to send the message and then left the server.

Willow then swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, feeling the full weight of the pain that had been her companion since the news about Xander's death har reached her. Willow got into her bed, curled into a fetal position and hugging the pillow the tears started to flow as she mourned the loss of her best friend.

To her utter annoyance, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said without thinking, and when Spike walked in, she cursed inwardly that she'd invited him into her dorm room. "Spike! Wha-what do you want? Uh, a spell? I can do that," she then tried to get out of her dorm room, but Spike grabbed her and threw her to the dresser.

"I'll give you a choice," Spike said as he walked to her. "Now I'm gonna kill you—no choice in that. But... I can let you stay dead, or I can bring you back, to be like me."

Willow swallowed. "I, uh, I'll scream!"

Spike smirked. "That'll be a bonus," Willow screamed, and Spike threw her on the bed and then turns the radio up to cover her screams as he went for her jugular. Willow whimpered; she was sure that this was it; she'd die. Suddenly Spike let her go and dropped on his knees, crying in pain and holding his head. Then he let out a soft groan and lifted his head and faster than Willow could react, Spike had pinned her under him, and just when his fangs were going to pierce her skin Spike screamed in pain, and he dropped down, hitting his head hard on the laminate floor.

He cried in pain for a moment, and then he looked pleadingly at Willow. "I don't understand. This sort of thing's never happened to me before," he said as he sat down on the bed.

"Maybe you were nervous," Willow said.

"I felt all right when I started. Let's try again," Spike said and leaped on her and drew back immediately. "Ow! Oh! Ow! Damn it!" he said and kicked the dresser, starting to pace around the room.

"Maybe you're trying too hard. Doesn't this happen to every vampire?" Willow asked.

"Not to me, it doesn't!"

"It's me, isn't it?" Willow asked.

Spike looked curiously at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you came looking for Buffy, then settled. I-I... You didn't want to bite me. I just happened to be around," Willow sadly said. "I know I'm not the kind of girl vamps like to sink their teeth into. It's always like,_ ooh; you're like a sister to me,_ or, _oh, you're such a good friend._"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'd bite you in a heartbeat," baffled Spike said.

"Really?" Willow asked as her computer beeped for the sign that it had managed to crack the encryption. Ignoring Spike Willow jumped up and went to her laptop and started to open the documents in the file.

"Oi! Don't forget me! The big bad here!" Spike said, and Willow felt his hand on her shoulder, and then the vampire screamed in pain again.

Willow glanced at the vampire, holding his head on the floor. "What's wrong with you?" she asked.

"I'd want to know that too!" Spike groaned, "every time I try to hurt you, it feels like my head's exploding."

"So, you can't hurt me?"

"Yes, yes, I can," Spike growled and attacked her.

And dropped on the floor, screaming in pain.

After Spike had done it thrice without hurting her, Willow knew that Spike wasn't a danger to her. Ignoring the infamous master vampire, she turned back to her computer and squealed in excitement when she saw that she now had access to all 2300 files she'd downloaded from the NID's server.

"Now, let's see what they're hiding under Cheyenne mountain!" she said, rubbing her hands together.

"Oi!" Spike said. "Remember me? I could eat you! I'm the big bad!"

"Oh, shut up, Spike. If you can't be quiet, leave. I have work to do," Willow grunted.

* * *

**TBC**

**:wq!**


End file.
